This week it was reported that the teenage daughter of the U.S. ambassador to Thailand, Eric John, fell to her death from a 25th-story apartment in midtown Manhattan.  The 17-year-old, Nicole John, had taken off her shoes and climbed out on to a ledge at the Herald Square Towers, apparently to take a photograph, when she slipped and fell at about 4.15 a.m., The Associated Press reported.   In reports since parents are asking, How does it come to this?  How can I make sure this doesn’t happen to my teenager?

Interestingly on The Today Show, Matt Lauer asked something like, ‘Well what do you do; call your seventeen year old every hour to check in on what they are doing?’  I thought this was a great question and one that makes it seem so impossible to stay on top of what your teen is doing.  But it isn’t!  In this same news segment, they discussed the girl’s blog and showed pictures of her partying with her friends.  Just a week before the teen said she had been ‘intoxicated’ for a number of hours.  Well here it is parents, teens tell everything!  All you have to do is know where to look.  This is in NO WAY a slam against her parents because that is the last thing they need right now, but it is meant to be a wakeup call to you.  IF your son, or daughter, is using the internet --- know where and what they are posting. 

Interestingly teens are NOT confidential and tend to be quite carefree in posting pics and updates in regards to their true lives.  If your teen is living an adult lifestyle, then you need to have an adult conversation with her.  This is an accident that can be avoided IF you are willing to give up being the ‘cool parent’ and ‘bff’.  There isn’t a teen today that wants a parent to be his/her best friend, but I speak with teens everyday that truly want a parent. 

I encourage you to use this tragedy to have an open discussion with your teen about drinking and drugs.  Bring it to the table and then head to the computer --- literally.  Look at your teen’s Facebook or MySpace page TODAY!  You may not be happy with what you see, but you will be glad you did it.